This thesis is a folkloristic examination of the religious beliefs and rituals associated with members of a religious movement known as Mission De L’Ésprit Saint. Mission De L’Ésprit Saint is a Quebecois religious denomination which believes that their founder was the physical incarnation of the Holy Spirit, and the movement strives to continue the teachings which were laid down during his lifetime. The major components of Mission theology and history, as well as an introductory consideration of their cosmology and worldview will be the major focus of this document, as well as a consideration of the role that Folklore has in understanding marginal religious movements.

For more than thirty years, historians of the Holy Roman Empire have registered little discernible interest in imperial censorship during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As historical scholarship has evolved in its understanding of the Holy Roman Empire during this period, it has lagged behind in its appreciation for how imperial authorities controlled expression and regulated the book trade. Old assumptions about imperial censorship have been slow to wither and decay even though assumptions about the Empire have been reexamined and revised. Where a growing appreciation for the Empire's complexities spurred interest in territorial and civic censorship, a corresponding interest in imperial censorship has not developed. Interestingly, the two–old assumptions and modern revisionist histories–have conspired to moot studies of the imperial government, its policies, and its procedures, which has meant that the significance of imperial censorship in the Empire has been largely overlooked. Moreover, historians' attention to local controls and regulations has inspired a more nuanced approach to censorship than had previously prevailed, leading to a general reassessment of how censorship influenced the circulation and reception of ideas in both positive and negative ways. Imperial censorship has failed to register its mark in this regard as well. Using a combination of imperial censorship legislation, archival documents, and printed primary sources, this dissertation charts imperial censorship during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as both a concept and a practice. Unable to enforce religious uniformity in the Empire after the Reformation's successful establishment in the 1520s, imperial legislation came to rely on libel, rather than heresy, as the formal basis for its censorship policies. Libel was an ambiguous category of illicit expression, the interpretation of which depended a great deal on the contingencies of context and the subjective preferences of enforcers. This affected how imperial and local authorities, respectively, interacted on matters of censorship, requiring more negotiation and cooperation than has heretofore been appreciated.

The intent of this thesis, as the title suggests, is to explore the autobiographical and religious writings of Edith Stein---philosopher and protegee of the phenomenologist, Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun and religious thinker---in order to establish the validity of attributing a theology of the cross to her life and works. This theological method---or way of "doing" theology---unites the cognitive and practical dimensions of Christian life. The investigation is, therefore, directed at underscoring the relational dynamics, core dispositions and philosophical/religious directives that highlight the unity of praxis and intellection in Stein's personhood and thought-world. The search for correlations is restricted (wherever possible) to her own words and a chronological/cumulative format is maintained throughout to trace the links between her Hebraic roots, philosophical world view, theory of empathy, familiarity with Luther's theology of the cross, and her own reflections on the cross. What comes through is a Judeo-Christian theological outlook that grew out of the empathetic phenomenon and gained momentum in the paradox of the cross.

This thesis considers the anonymously published Epistola de terrae motu and the question of its authorship. The authorship of this treatise was attributed to G. J. Rheticus by Reijer Hooykaas in a publication released in 1984; however, that attribution is not decisive. The first chapter introduces De terrae motu and is followed by a second chapter that contains a review of the relevant historiography relating to scholarship on Rheticus. The third chapter presents Rheticus’ biography. The fourth chapter considers the inconclusive reasoning for the attribution of authorship to Rheticus. The fifth and sixth chapters consider the environment of scriptural hermeneutics in the early modern period, both theoretically and with recourse to specific texts, respectively. The seventh chapter concludes this thesis with a synthesis of the arguments herein which ultimately indicate that it is conceivable that Rheticus wrote De terrae motu but an early seventeenth-century Catholic author is more likely.

Šioje disertacijoje gilinasi į Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitiką bei kritiškai įvertinama Lietuvos Europos politika. Disertacijoje siūloma viena iš galimų Lietuvos buvimo Europoje strateginių vizijų – Lietuvos Europos metapolitika. Pagrindinis šios disertacijos tikslas yra atsakyti į klausimą „kokia galėtų būti Lietuvos Europos metapolitika?“. Siekiant atsakyti į šį pagrindinį klausimą darbo pirmoje ir antroje dalyje atitinkamai bandoma atsakyti į du klausimus: kokia yra Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitika? Kokiu mastu Lietuvos Europos metapolitika galėtų atitikti Šventojo Sosto metapolitikos principus? Disertacijoje pastebima, kad dabartinė technokratinė Europos Sąjunga praranda savo krikščionišką tapatumą, tampa iš esmės kristofobinė, praranda gebėjima strategiškai, metapolitiškai vertinti ir projektuoti tiek Europos Sąjungos vidaus, tiek išorinį veikimą. Dabartinės Europos negebėjimas metapolitinę realybę „atstovauti“, ją suprasti, perteikti, susieti su kasdienine politika verčia Europą „nulipti nuo scenos“. Darbe pažymima, kad silpnėjanti Europos Sąjungos metapolitinė dimensija atveria duris reliatyvizmui bei negatyviai laisvei, kuri ilgainiui gali sukelti grėsmę Lietuvos identitetui ir valstybingumui Europos Sąjungos rėmuose, kadangi negatyvi laisvė neturi jokios pozityvios žmogaus ir visuomenės vizijos. Savo ruožtu, metapolitinė dimensija suteikia Lietuvai pozityvią metapolitinę darbotvarkę, kuri gali sustiprinti Lietuvą, įtvirtinti jos taką regione bei Europos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze the European metapolitics of the Catholic Church and to evaluate critically European policy of Lithuania. Lithuania’s European metapolitics is being proposed in this thesis as one of the possible visions of European politics of Lithuania. The main question posed in the work is what could be Lithuania’s European metapolitics like? In order to answer the aforementioned question, the two main tasks are exercised: the European metapolitics of the Holy See (analysed in the first part of the thesis) and to what extent the the European metapolitics of Lithuania could comply with the principles of the European metapolitics?(explored in the second part of the work). It’s being concluded in this thesis that modern technocratic European Union is losing its Christian identity and becoming Christophobic, losing its ability to project internal or external policies at strategic or metapolitical level. The inability of current European Union to “represent” metapolitical reality, to understand and link it to everyday politics is pushing Europe to the margins of global politics. It is underlined that the weakening of metapolitical dimension is opening the way for relativism and negative freedom inside the European Union that in the longer run can threaten Lithuanian identity and statehood inside the EU, because negative freedom has no positive vision of human person or society. On the other hand, metapolitical dimension gives... [to full text]

The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze the European metapolitics of the Catholic Church and to evaluate critically European policy of Lithuania. Lithuania’s European metapolitics is being proposed in this thesis as one of the possible visions of European politics of Lithuania. The main question posed in the work is what could be Lithuania’s European metapolitics like? In order to answer the aforementioned question, the two main tasks are exercised: the European metapolitics of the Holy See (analysed in the first part of the thesis) and to what extent the European metapolitics of Lithuania could comply with the principles of the European metapolitic ?(explored in the second part of the work). It’s being concluded in this thesis that modern technocratic European Union is losing its Christian identity and becoming Christophobic, losing its ability to project internal or external policies at strategic or metapolitical level. The inability of current European Union to “represent” metapolitical reality, to understand and link it to everyday politics is pushing Europe to the margins of global politics. It is underlined that the weakening of metapolitical dimension is opening the way for relativism and negative freedom inside the European Union that in the longer run can threaten Lithuanian identity and statehood inside the EU, because negative freedom has no positive vision of human person or society. On the other hand, metapolitical dimension gives... [to full text] / Šioje disertacijoje gilinasi į Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitiką bei kritiškai įvertinama Lietuvos Europos politika. Disertacijoje siūloma viena iš galimų Lietuvos buvimo Europoje strateginių vizijų – Lietuvos Europos metapolitika. Pagrindinis šios disertacijos tikslas yra atsakyti į klausimą „kokia galėtų būti Lietuvos Europos metapolitika?“. Siekiant atsakyti į šį pagrindinį klausimą darbo pirmoje ir antroje dalyje atitinkamai bandoma atsakyti į du klausimus: kokia yra Šventojo Sosto Europos metapolitika? Kokiu mastu Lietuvos Europos metapolitika galėtų atitikti Šventojo Sosto metapolitikos principus? Disertacijoje pastebima, kad dabartinė technokratinė Europos Sąjunga praranda savo krikščionišką tapatumą, tampa iš esmės kristofobinė, praranda gebėjima strategiškai, metapolitiškai vertinti ir projektuoti tiek Europos Sąjungos vidaus, tiek išorinį veikimą. Dabartinės Europos negebėjimas metapolitinę realybę „atstovauti“, ją suprasti, perteikti, susieti su kasdienine politika verčia Europą „nulipti nuo scenos“. Darbe pažymima, kad silpnėjanti Europos Sąjungos metapolitinė dimensija atveria duris reliatyvizmui bei negatyviai laisvei, kuri ilgainiui gali sukelti grėsmę Lietuvos identitetui ir valstybingumui Europos Sąjungos rėmuose, kadangi negatyvi laisvė neturi jokios pozityvios žmogaus ir visuomenės vizijos. Savo ruožtu, metapolitinė dimensija suteikia Lietuvai pozityvią metapolitinę darbotvarkę, kuri gali sustiprinti Lietuvą, įtvirtinti jos taką regione bei Europos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

<p>The Holy Qurʾān, like the Bible, is an acknowledged literary masterpiece. Its linguistic and aesthetic vivacity with an amalgam of religious beliefs, moral values, religious social orthodoxy and historical backgrounds pose a great challenge to any translator and make the task overwhelmingly arduous, if not unattainable. The study aims at examining the problems the Qurʾān translators encounter while translating near-synonyms from Arabic into English. It is based on the translations of two professional translators namely, Yusuf Ali and T.B. Irving. The translations provide an empirical basis for the discussion of the problems while translating Qurʾānic texts into English. The corpus for the present study includes the translations of four near-synonymous pairs namely, ghayth and maṭar, al-ḥilf and al-qasm, bakhīl and shaḥīḥ and ʿāqir and ʿaqīm in their Qurʾānic context. The two translated texts are compared to determine to which extent the translations reflect the referential and the connotative meaning of the original Qurʾānic text as well as to which extent they maintain the textuality standards such as cohesion, coherence, informativity, situationality and acceptability, intentionality and intertextuality. In short, the study sets out to identify the roblematic areas in the translated Qurʾānic texts at the lexical and textual levels with a view to determining what makes one translation better than the other, or what brings one translation closer to the original text than the other.The study is an intersection between Qurʾānic exegeses (tafsīr) and applied linguistics. The researcher consults different books on translation theories as well as of Qurʾānic exegeses (tafsīr) to facilitate the process of analyzing the near-synonyms in their Qurʾānic context. The researcher opts for eclecticism, instead of confining to a particular rigid model or approach, which is a combination of text-analysis translation-oriented approaches of De Beaugrande &amp / Dressler (1981) / Neubert &amp / Shreve (1992) / Halliday (1994) and Hatim &amp / Mason (1990). In addition, the study draws upon the multiple and theoretical implications of Nida&rsquo / s dynamic equivalence, Beekman &amp / Callow&rsquo / s (1974) historical and dynamic fidelity and Gutt&rsquo / s (1991) relevance theory and the emphasis on communication as mainly context-dependent. These models are closely related and reliable in the process of analyzing and evaluating the problems encountered in Arabic-English translation of the Qurʾānic near-synonyms. Furthermore, the researcher suggests an outline approach for the process of analyzing the Qurʾānic near-synonyms translations in a systemic and organized way thereby ensuring maximum and effective communication of the Qurʾānic message. The study concludes that the Qurʾān translator, compared to other literary genres, faces many difficulties in translating the Qurʾānic ST message. The selected translations of the Holy Qurʾān have failed to measure up to the depth of the Qurʾānic&nbsp / message, its originality and the connotative shades of meanings of the original expression. The study attributes these problems to contextual, socio-cultural, theological and historical factors which create differences that lead to gaps or absence of lexicalization in the TT. Furthermore, the reliance on&nbsp / dictionary meaning rather than the meaning of the lexical item in context, the negligence of context culture as well as the context of situation (the reason for the revelation of the verses) affect the &ldquo / periodicity&rdquo / of the text as indicated by Martin &amp / Rose (2007, p.187), that is, the information flow of the whole text. Accordingly, this affects maintaining the standards of textuality and the fidelity which a religious text should meet. The complexity of the Qurʾān as a&nbsp / genre is a great challenge to the translator at both the lexical and textual levels, which dilutes the authenticity of the holy text and misrepresents its true message. The conclusion of the study which contains recommendations based on experience may prove helpful to the future novice and professional translators to improve the quality of translation in general and religious translation in particular. The study is a contribution towards a greater understanding of the subtle differences between the near-synonymous pairs in their Qurʾānic context through Arabic-English translation. It is a novel addition to the world of religious translation, Qurʾān translation, ḥadīth and fiqh in English. It also contributes to some extent to modern exegeses of the&nbsp / Qurʾān. It is hoped that the work will encourage further studies in the field of translation to employ a context-based linguistic approach to translating different genres and sacred texts in particular, integrating insights from applicable translation and linguistic approaches.</p>

South Africa is in many ways a traumatised society and the Bulhoek Massacre of 24 May 1921 in which about two hundred people were killed in a matter of minutes was one such traumatising experience. What makes this massacre special is that the victims were a clearly identi~able christian grouping who dared to question and resist the overpowering might of the state by cleverly establishing an utopian community which lived in a new and resistant time, with counter values and an alternative lifestyle. One of the key ideas which shaped the establishment of this utopian commune by Enoch Josiah Mgijima on what was declared Crownland were this-worldly views of salvation and the destruction of the world. Mgijima offered people a practical and pragmatic way in which they would be saved from this impending destruction. A lot of water as gone under the bridge since that fateful morning in May 1921. This study investigates present views of salvation among the Israelites, the followers of Mgijima, and the role of the memory of Bulhoek Massacre in the construction of these soteriological notions. The thesis argues that inspite of the extreme trauma and apparent disconfirmation of the original vision and hope of a counter society, present views of salvation must stand in continuity with the hope and vision of those who fell in 1921. Furthermore, the thesis argues and demonstrates that though they seek to transcend the limits and constraints of the present commodified structuring of social and material relations, present views of salvation necessarily have their basis in the' material context of domination, thereby rendering the soteriology of the Israelites as a contextual soteriology. Using the methodological framework of depth hermeneutics the thesis probes and interprets the various reading methods and henneneutic strategies that the Israelites utilize in the construction of their soteriological notions. These methods and strategies are focused on all four ritual festivals of the Israelites, viz. pesach, the Fast of Esther, the commemoration service of the Bulhoek Massacre, and the commemoration of the life ofEnoch Mgijima These methods and strategies establish a dynamic and organic link between the two biblical festivals and the two Israelitic festivals across time and space, through a contextual appropriation of the two biblical festivals which have freedom as their key motif. What becomes clear through this appropnanon is that though the Israelites do not view themselves as a political movement per se, freedom from domination is key to their theological self-understanding and identity. The thesis demonstrates the manner in which the memory of the Bulhoek Massacre serves to facilitate the insurrection of the soteric knowledges which the perpetrators of the massacre sought to subjugate. What the study also reveals with respect to the Fast of Esther is that the narrative and interpretive strategies of Esther's soteric agency is determined not only by her identity as a woman in a kyriarchal context in Persian exile, but also by the gender-biased interpretative interests and commitments of the present Israelite readers. For this reason male Israelite define her soteric agency along domesticating, patriarchal and macho lines whereas the Israelite women are silent in respect of this and choose instead to underscore the spiritual depth of her soteric agency. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

Bohemian art of the second half of the fourteenth century is closely associated with the personality of Charles IV, Emperor of the Romans and King of Bohemia (1316--1378). In an effort to legitimize his reign as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and to raise the profile of his ancestral Bohemian lands, he leaned on the power of history to reveal his heritage as stemming, on one side, from an illustrious line of emperors including Charlemagne, and on the other, from the dynasty of Bohemian sovereigns. He recognized that art could display this legitimization and so implemented a programme of historicism in his artistic commissions. His impact on Bohemian art was indirect as well: his ideas influenced the art patronage of his closest court advisers, as seen in this paper through the examples of two illuminated manuscripts, the Evangeliary of John of Opava and the Liber viaticus.

Den heliga kungen och den saliga änkan is a comparative study of the saint legend of Erik and the saint legend of Elin as they are represented each saint’s officium. The base for these comparisons is the question of what general similarities, and differences, there are as well as an immerse investigation of how these legends portray halidom and finally how the issue of femininity and manliness are portrayed through these two legends. During the thesis apparent similarities appear in how the legends are structured; a template seems to have existed in which the content of what a legend should include is stated. Erik, as well as Elin, are of noble birth and are portrayed as godly people who live bountiful and ascetic lives. They also share other common features; both Erik and Elin proceed on a mission before they encounter the enemy which ultimately leads to their martyr deaths. After their deaths various miracles takes place. Several references to the bible occur within both legends with the intention to authorize and emphasize moral virtues. One of the variations between the legends is in the way the saints die. Whereas Erik dies during battle, sword in hand, which is not a completely characteristic way to die the martyr death, Elin instead confronts her destiny with complete stoic composure. In terms on halidom, both saints are defined within the frame of a rex justus, a rightful king, as well as a vidua sancta, a holy widow who prays for her enemies before death. In the comparison between femininity and manliness typical patterns appear in which Erik is described as an energetic man, yet humble before God, whereas Elin is portrayed as fair and vestal, abstemious and virtuous, wise and unpresuming.